System Wide Information Management
Encyclopedia
System Wide Information Management (SWIM) is a Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) advanced technology program designed to facilitate greater sharing of Air Traffic Management (ATM) system information, such as airport operational status, weather information, flight data, status of special use airspace, and National Airspace System
(NAS) restrictions. SWIM will support current and future NAS programs by providing a flexible and secure information management architecture for sharing NAS information. SWIM will use commercial off-the-shelf hardware and software to support a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) that will facilitate the addition of new systems and data exchanges and increase common situational awareness.
Eurocontrol initially presented the SWIM System concept to the FAA in 1997, where it has been under development ever since. In 2005, the International Civil Aviation Organization
(ICAO) Global ATM Operational Concept adopted the SWIM concept to promote information-based ATM integration. SWIM is now part of development projects in both the United States (Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen
) and the European Union (Single European Sky ATM Research
).
SWIM is part of FAA's NextGen, an umbrella term for the ongoing evolution of the United States' NAS from a ground-based system of air traffic control
(ATC) to a satellite-based system of air traffic management. The transformation to NextGen requires programs and technologies that provide more efficient operations, including streamlined communications capabilities. The SWIM program is an integral part of that transformation that will connect FAA systems. The SWIM program will also enable interaction with other members of the decision-making community including other government agencies, air navigation service providers, and airspace users.
The SWIM program will lead to a variety of benefits. SWIM will help improve aviation safety through increased common situational awareness by allowing more decision makers to access the same information. This will provide consistent information to different users (pilots, controllers, dispatchers) that supports proactive decision-making.
SWIM is essential to providing the most efficient use of airspace, managing air traffic around weather, and increasing common situational awareness on the ground. SWIM core services will enable systems to request and receive information when they need it, subscribe for automatic receipt, and publish information and services as appropriate. This will provide for sharing of information across different systems. This will allow airspace users and controllers to access the most current information that may be affecting their area of responsibility in a more efficient manner. SWIM will improve decision-making and streamline information sharing for improved planning and execution.
SWIM will also help reduce infrastructure costs by decreasing the number of unique interfaces between systems. Initially, SWIM will provide a common interface framework, reducing the operation and maintenance costs of current interfaces. New systems will interface with each other via SWIM-compliant interfaces, thereby reducing future data interface development costs. Ultimately, redundant data sources will no longer be needed, and associated systems will be decommissioned.
SWIM is being implemented in segments. In each segment an appropriate set of NAS applications will be developed and integrated into SWIM. Core services will be added as required to support the implementation capabilities associated with the segments. SWIM core services will enable systems to request and receive information when they need it, subscribe for automatic receipt, and publish information and services as appropriate. This will provide for sharing of information among diverse systems.
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
(FAA) advanced technology program designed to facilitate greater sharing of Air Traffic Management (ATM) system information, such as airport operational status, weather information, flight data, status of special use airspace, and National Airspace System
National Airspace System
The National Airspace System of the United States is one of the most complex aviation systems in the world — consisting of thousands of people, procedures, facilities, and pieces of equipment — that enables safe and expeditious air travel in the United States and over large portions of the world's...
(NAS) restrictions. SWIM will support current and future NAS programs by providing a flexible and secure information management architecture for sharing NAS information. SWIM will use commercial off-the-shelf hardware and software to support a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) that will facilitate the addition of new systems and data exchanges and increase common situational awareness.
Eurocontrol initially presented the SWIM System concept to the FAA in 1997, where it has been under development ever since. In 2005, the International Civil Aviation Organization
International Civil Aviation Organization
The International Civil Aviation Organization , pronounced , , is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth...
(ICAO) Global ATM Operational Concept adopted the SWIM concept to promote information-based ATM integration. SWIM is now part of development projects in both the United States (Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen
Next Generation Air Transportation System
The Next Generation Air Transportation System is the name given to a new National Airspace System due for implementation across the United States in stages between 2012 and 2025. The...
) and the European Union (Single European Sky ATM Research
Single European Sky ATM Research
Single European Sky ATM Research is the name given to the collaborative project that is intended to completely overhaul the European airspace and its Air Traffic Management .- Project :The SESAR project is composed of three phases :...
).
SWIM is part of FAA's NextGen, an umbrella term for the ongoing evolution of the United States' NAS from a ground-based system of air traffic control
Air traffic control
Air traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...
(ATC) to a satellite-based system of air traffic management. The transformation to NextGen requires programs and technologies that provide more efficient operations, including streamlined communications capabilities. The SWIM program is an integral part of that transformation that will connect FAA systems. The SWIM program will also enable interaction with other members of the decision-making community including other government agencies, air navigation service providers, and airspace users.
The SWIM program will lead to a variety of benefits. SWIM will help improve aviation safety through increased common situational awareness by allowing more decision makers to access the same information. This will provide consistent information to different users (pilots, controllers, dispatchers) that supports proactive decision-making.
SWIM is essential to providing the most efficient use of airspace, managing air traffic around weather, and increasing common situational awareness on the ground. SWIM core services will enable systems to request and receive information when they need it, subscribe for automatic receipt, and publish information and services as appropriate. This will provide for sharing of information across different systems. This will allow airspace users and controllers to access the most current information that may be affecting their area of responsibility in a more efficient manner. SWIM will improve decision-making and streamline information sharing for improved planning and execution.
SWIM will also help reduce infrastructure costs by decreasing the number of unique interfaces between systems. Initially, SWIM will provide a common interface framework, reducing the operation and maintenance costs of current interfaces. New systems will interface with each other via SWIM-compliant interfaces, thereby reducing future data interface development costs. Ultimately, redundant data sources will no longer be needed, and associated systems will be decommissioned.
SWIM Approach
Rather than developing a separate SWIM infrastructure, the program will provide SOA-based standards, guidance, and core capabilities software to NAS programs that will host the software on their existing hardware. SOA technology allows software applications to locate and interact with one another through information services that can be accessed without knowledge of the application’s underlying platform implementation. SWIM maximizes the use of current infrastructure and will be developed incrementally based on the needs of various data communities, maturity of concepts of use, and implementation phased segments that are sized to fit reasonable cost, schedule, and risk thresholds.SWIM is being implemented in segments. In each segment an appropriate set of NAS applications will be developed and integrated into SWIM. Core services will be added as required to support the implementation capabilities associated with the segments. SWIM core services will enable systems to request and receive information when they need it, subscribe for automatic receipt, and publish information and services as appropriate. This will provide for sharing of information among diverse systems.
External links
- SWIM FAA page describing the project
- Fact Sheet FAA Fact Sheet describing the project